While immigration drops, businesses are crying out for more staff

Peter Martin ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT

December 7, 2010

AUSTRALIA’S rate of immigration is tumbling already. An issue of bipartisan concern during the election campaign, the latest figures show net migration falling sharply with the number of permanent and long-term arrivals outnumbering departures by only 210,400 in the year to October, well down on the 324,700 a year before.

A rolling annual graph shows the rate continuing to plunge, as increasing numbers of Australians head overseas and fewer immigrants arrive.

In October, just 9370 overseas arrivals settled on Australian shores, the lowest total since March 2004.

Although it accords with the Prime Minister’s expressed desire during the campaign for ”a sustainable Australia, not a big Australia”, the slowdown has ominous portents for Australia’s economic boom.

”Businesses are shaking their heads,” said a Commonwealth Securities economist, Craig James. ”Job markets are tight, with not enough local talent to fill positions. But while companies are crying out for staff, migrant numbers are plunging.

”Over the past year, the annual number of migrants has plunged by a record 35 per cent, robbing the economy of momentum at an important time.

”It is in the interests of all Australians to have a balanced job market. The last thing anyone wants to see is the Reserve Bank keeping interest rates at higher levels than they should be because restrictions on migrant inflows are pushing up wages and prices.”

Separately released job advertisement data shows that ads were up 2.9 per cent in November as firms struggled to get staff. Newspaper job advertisements rebounded 0.9 per cent after slipping for two months.

The ANZ Bank says its count of advertisements points to a further jump in employment of 20,000 when the November figures are released today, pushing the unemployment rate down from 5.4 to 5.2 per cent.

But it warns the job figures will ”effectively cover hiring decisions made prior to the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate increase”.

”Given anecdotal reports of more moderate consumer behaviour since, it is reasonable to expect some moderation in the rate of growth of labour demand in the months ahead,” said an economist, Ivan Colhoun.

The high dollar and cheap airfares pushed Australian short-term departures to a record high of 7 million trips in the year to October. During that month we left the country around 600,000 times, up 15 per cent on the previous October.

Tourist arrivals have continued to increase, despite the dollar climbing 5 per cent in the year to October. New Zealand and Britain were the biggest source of tourists followed by the US, China and Japan.

WE ARE NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS TO DO THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL VISA TYPES -

1. VISITOR/TOURIST VISAS

2. SPOUSE VISAS

3. PARTNER VISAS

Here is some useful information for you about each of these 3 Visa Types.

Tourist Visa:

This visa is available to all passport holders who are outside Australia and want to apply for a visa to visit Australia or for people who are in Australia and want to stay longer as a visitor. Certain tourists are also be eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) or an eVisitor visa which is determined by the passport that they hold.
If granted, this visa will allow you either a single or multiple entry to Australia for a stay period of up to three (3), six (6) or 12 months. The period of stay and number of entries granted will depend on the purpose of the visit and your personal circumstances. You must have a genuine intention to visit Australia as a tourist, for recreation or to visit your family and/or friends.
Family members, under 18, who are travelling to Australia and are included on your passport, can be included in your application. Other family members who have separate passports must lodge separate applications.
If you are granted this visa, you can study for up to three months. If you want to study longer than three months you should apply for a student visa.
You are not able to work in Australia on this type of visa. If you are coming to Australia to work, you should consider applying for a visa which allows you to work in Australia such as a Work Permit (subclass 457 visa).

Spouse & Partner Visas:

This visa allows you to enter or remain in Australia on the basis of your married, de-facto or interdependent relationship with your partner:· on a temporary visa (usually for a waiting period of approximately two (2) years from the date you applied for the visa)· on a permanent visa if, after the waiting period (if applicable), your partner relationship still exists and you are still eligible for this visa.
Your partner must provide sponsorship for you. Your partner must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.Married SpouseYour marriage must be legal under Australian Law. If you were married in a country other than Australia and that marriage is valid in that country, generally it will be recognised as valid under Australian law.
You and your partner must show a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others. You and your partner must be living together or, if not, any separation must be only temporary. You must also have a genuine and continuing relationship with your partner.De-facto Spouse (opposite sex, unmarried) and Interdependent (same-sex, unmarried)You and your partner must have been in a de-facto spouse or interdependent relationship for the entire 12 months immediately prior to lodging your application. The 12-month relationship requirement may be waived if one of the following situations applies:· you can demonstrate compelling and compassionate circumstances, such as if you have children with your partner.· in the case of an interdependent relationship, where cohabitation was contrary to law in the applicant’s country of residence.
You and your partner must show a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others. You and your partner must be living together or, if not, any separation must be only temporary. You must also have a genuine and continuing relationship with your partner.
If you declare your relationship to the State office of Births, Deaths and Marriages then you can have the 12 months cohabitation period mentioned above waived.
In assessing a claimed de-facto or interdependent relationship, the department usually looks at evidence of things such as:· living together full-time· sharing important financial and social commitments· setting up a household separately from other people· how, when and where you first met· how your relationship developed· when you decided to marry or to start a de facto spouse or interdependent relationship· your domestic arrangements (how you support each other financially, physically and emotionally and when this level of commitment began)· any periods of separation (when and why the separation occurred, for how long and how you maintained your relationship during the period of separation)· your future plans.

A lot of change is happening in Australia with overseas students and the Australian Visa System.

Not too long ago it was an easy step for an overseas student to come and study here, obtain a degree, and then successfully apply for a work visa. This is no longer the case.

Current visa rules are much more onerous. For example, right now, the family of a Chinese student wanting to do an undergraduate course at university would need to show it has up to $150,000 in the bank for 6 months before the date of the visa application, in order to qualify to obtain the student visa.

The government says it is trying to get the right balance between making the visa application process easier for GENUINE STUDENTS, while imposing appropriate checks on those who may seek to ABUSE THE SYSTEM.

Australian Universities are getting extremely worried as they depend on fees from overseas students to subsidize domestic students who do not want to pay high tuition fees. So the whole this is now a very hot political potato. They are predicting that if the government does make some changes to its current policies then by 2015 international student enrollments in higher education could fall from current of about 214,000 to about 148,00 resulting in about 36,182 fewer jobs and a collapse in university revenues of $7 billion dollars.

Critics say the government is making ill-informed decisions with no over-arching strategy and vision.

Recent data shows that visas granted to students applying from overseas fell by 25 per cent in 2009-2010.

Overseas students have an important impact on the economy. They buy or rent properties and purchase many goods and services.

With current government policy the “tap” is slowly being turned off.

Coming to study in Australia used to be an easy path to permanent residence. It is now far more complex.

Australian Visa Experts is allied to top migration agents that can help you navigate the current hurdles and obstacles. Just go to the website and follow the steps to send us in your enquiry and we will respond promptly and tell you what we can do for you.

Just recently the Australian Government took over the job of regulating all migration agents from the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA). Agents are regulated under the Migration Act and the Migration Regulations. The Act and the Regulations are said to be so long and complex that they are almost as bad as the Tax Act.

Lawyers who want to assist people to obtain a visa must also be registered as a migration agent. Lawyers are already heavily regulated under the Legal Profession Acts and some complain that the dual regulation that they are exposed to if they want to give “immigration assistance” and not just “immigration legal assistance” is just too burdensome.

About two thirds of migration agents are NOT legally qualified, and so whenever they need to get legal advice for a client they must retain the services of a lawyer for their client.

It makes sense to use a service that has under the one roof expertise in both migration visa practice, procedure and policy AND in immigration law.

Australian Visa Experts has it all under one roof.

Don’t fool around with unqualified or unscrupulous agents. Go for quality and experience and don’t just base your decision on who is offering you the cheapest price.

There are two types of “bad migration agent” – the one that rips you off mercilessly and leads you up the garden path and the one that is trying to get your business solely by bidding on price. Don’t fall for it. Go for quality and experience AND a fair and reasonable price every time. Every time you get knocked back by the Department of Immigration it gets harder to get through the second time. It is best to get it right the first time.